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A former youth football coach and scout whose car crashed into a tree on a straight road the day he was due to go on trial on historical sex abuse charges died of a traumatic brain injury, an inquest has heard.

Michael "Kit" Carson, 75, had denied 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The allegations involved 11 boys under the age of 16, between 1978 and 2009.

Carson's trial was listed to begin at Peterborough Crown Court on January 7, but he died in a single-vehicle crash that morning.

Cambridgeshire's senior coroner, David Heming, opening and adjourning an inquest in Huntingdon on Tuesday, said Carson was the driver of a Mazda 3 car which crashed off the A1303 at Bottisham, around seven miles east of Cambridge.

"The circumstances as presently known are that the vehicle left the carriageway on to a wide grass verge and collided with a tree," said Mr Heming.

"Mr Carson suffered fatal injuries.

"The cause of death provided by the post-mortem examination is a traumatic brain injury."

Carson died at the scene, with no other vehicles or people involved.

The section of rural single-carriageway road where the collision took place is straight and has a 60mph speed limit.

"It's clear that there are further investigations to be done by Cambridgeshire Police concerning the circumstances of the accident," Mr Heming said.

"In addition, it's routine in these types of investigations for samples to be sent for toxicological analysis and results of these specialist examinations of blood normally take approximately six weeks.

"I would like to express my condolences and sympathy to the wife of the deceased."

Carson, of St Bartholomew's Court, Riverside, Cambridge, had worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.